Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton threw a cocktail reception afterparty for the supporters in his quest for Governor at Margaritaville after Friday's session of the Connecticut Republican Convention at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Friday, May 16, 2014.

Photo: Tyler Sizemore

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton threw a cocktail reception afterparty...

Image 2 of 3

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton threw a cocktail reception afterparty for the supporters in his quest for Governor at Margaritaville after Friday's session of the Connecticut Republican Convention at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Friday, May 16, 2014.

Photo: Tyler Sizemore

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton threw a cocktail reception afterparty...

Image 3 of 3

GOP delegates caroused the VISTA Lounge nightclub after Friday's session of the Connecticut Republican Convention at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Friday, May 16, 2014.

UNCASVILLE -- It's nighttime in Uncasville, the start of a weekend of too many glasses of Sangiovese and too many spins of the roulette wheel for an untold number of "conservatives."

Left to its own devices, a wolf pack of Republicans loyal to Tom Foley goes on the prowl. They stop in the VISTA Lounge for a nightcap on the opening evening of their state party's convention at Mohegan Sun.

In the foreground of the Wombi Rock -- a man-made outcropping of glass and banquettes with bottle service and an annoying velvet rope -- a man is guzzling a chocolate martini and puffing on an electronic cigarette that emits a blue glow.

The group is scheming, plotting how they can convince Foley rival John McKinney to run for lieutenant governor instead of governor to avoid a three-way primary.

A DJ is spinning Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up."

This is how Republicans roll.

"We smoke cigars, foment about how bad things are and ogle women," a convention-goer from Waterbury says, begging not to be identified.

By Saturday morning, Ryan Bingham, the youthful ex-mayor of Torrington, acknowledges the obvious in his nominating speech for Mark Boughton for governor.

"Did everybody stay up too late last night? Is that the deal?" Bingham ribs fellow Republicans.

Boughton, Danbury's longest-serving mayor and main threat to Foley in the GOP field, finds his lost shaker of salt.

It's at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, where Boughton has opened up a tab; only in politics, they don't call it that.